[Update, September 14th, 2023: Despite this recommendation, UNESCO ultimately voted not to place Venice on its World Heritage in Danger list]

Experts from UNESCO, the cultural agency of the United Nations, have recommended adding Venice to its World Heritage in Danger list. As reported by Reuters, officials from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre made the recommendation with a view that Italy was not doing enough to protect the city from the impacts of climate change and mass tourism.

Both the city and its lagoon would be added to the list under the recommendation. Other sites recommended for the list are the historic centers of Kyiv, Lviv, and Odesa in Ukraine, the town of Timbuktu in Mali, and several sites across Syria, Iraq, and Libya. The final decision will be made at a meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in Riyadh in September.

"Resolution of long-standing but urgent issues is hindered by a lack of overall joint strategic vision for the long-term preservation of the property and low effectiveness of integrated coordinated management at all stakeholder levels," UNESCO said about why Venice has been recommended for the danger list, adding further that corrective measures proposed by the Italian state are "currently insufficient and not detailed enough."

In a response carried by Reuters, a spokesperson for the city said the municipality will "carefully read the proposed decision" and "discuss it with the government." A plan for the city to introduce a fee for day-trippers has been delayed by objections.

In 2021, Archinect published an editorial that questioned the mass international convergence in the city for the Venice Art and Architecture Biennales and asked if the delays caused by the COVID pandemic also signaled an opportunity to evolve the format. More broadly, the BBC reports that approximately 28 million tourists visit the city each year, which UNESCO argues is damaging the city due to pressures for urban expansion projects.